Captain America: Soldier of the Future
by Courier999
Summary: During WWII, a sickly young man becomes a super-soldier. About 70 years later, he finds himself in a world changed in his absence. Rated T for violence, language, and sexual innuendo. Set in the same universe as "Spider-Man: Partners in Crime." R&R!
1. Chapter 1

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Soldier of the Future

_Captain America_ and related characters are property of Marvel Comics. This is set in the same universe as "Spider-Man: Partners in Crime".

Chapter 1: You're in the Army Now

_"-for these warriors will be picked from those without power, augmented by all manner of drugs, serums, and tonics, and trained as to have a working knowledge of everything from the workings of armored vehicles to the operation of aircraft."_\- Erskine, A. _The Future of War _(excerpt). Published 1936 by Kirby and Kane Books, .

FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY

APRIL 1942:

"O'Neil!"

"Here!"

"Hansen!"

"Here!"

"Abernathy!"

"Present, sir!"

"Rogers!"

"Here!"

The drill sergeant looked at the last name on his list. Before him stood a man who looked so much like the "before" picture in a Charles Atlas ad, any near-sighted person could have mistaken him for a scarecrow if he was standing still in a cornfield.

"Rogers?"

"Present, sir!"

The sergeant squinted at the new recruit.

"Alright! Tell me why you want to be in the United States Army!"

"To kick those Krauts back to Berlin, sir!"

"To kill those Nazis so that Hell itself will have to turn any more that arrive at its gates, sir!"

"To make sure my brother did not die in vain during the Spanish Civil War, sir!"

Once again, Steve Rogers found himself at the end of the list.

"To relieve the occupied nations of Europe of the yoke of Nazi occupation, sir."

The drill sergeant tilted his head.

"That's why we're fighting, isn't it?"

A series of guffaws filled the air before the sergeant sent the recruits to the barracks, while he slunk off to his office to write a telegram.

_Erskine- found candidate for that super-soldier plan of yours. *STOP*. Get me team from British experiments. *STOP*. Meet you at Brown Hotel with H. Stark for dinner in two weeks. *STOP*._\- _J. Kern, United States Army_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Minerva and Adonis

"Impressed, Sergeant?"

Sergeant Kern looked up from his meal to see Howard Stark's mustachioed face smiling at him.

"Food's decent enough. Then again, after having little else to eat besides Army food, anything else'd be food for the gods- if you catch my drift."

Just then, a bearded man in a lab coat entered the restaurant.

"Good evening, Mister Stark. And you too, Sergeant."

"Evenin' to you too, Doctor Erskine."

Erskine took his seat.

"So, we have someone for the project?" he asked.

"You could say that. Scrawny kid by the name of Steven G. Rogers. 5'11", got a bit of wheeze when he breathes, runty in general. But he's a good kid and sharp as a tack."

The sergeant handed Erskine a manilla file folder.

"You want this guy, Doc? I mean, we've got heartier boys in my unit-"

"With all due respect, Sergeant, I'll take the runt."

"Excuse me, but I am interrupting something at the boy's club?" a woman's voice asked.

Stark, Erskine, and Kern swiveled around to see a woman in British combat fatigues standing behind them.

"Agent Carter! What a surprise to see you here!"

"Spare the formalities, Stark. If you're done faffing about, we need to get on with it. SSR's orders."

"Margaret, what's the rush?"

"Schmidt's found the Cube in Orkney. Falsworth got wounded-"

"Fine. We'll get moving. Give us a few weeks."

"Depending on how fast HYDRA's capable of tapping into the Cube, we may not have a few weeks."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Augmentation

DERBY DAY, 1942:

Steve Rogers looked on in awe as medical and scientific personnel prepared him for the conversion from man to superman.

_Remember, you'll always be that scrawny kid from Brooklyn. Don't forget that. Ever._ he thought as he scanned the room.

"Mister Stark, is everything up and running?" Erskine asked

"_Got it. How's everything with the kid?_" came the reply over the intercom

"Ready."

"_Then let's get this clambake started!_"

A nurse strapped Steve into a large metal pod.

"Good luck."

The pod slammed shut.

_Okay. No going back now. Let's think about this_-

A stinging sensation penetrated Steve's chest.

"_Preliminary injections of penicillin, Doctor?_" Steve heard from within the pod.

"_Yes._"

A minute passed, and then another round of stinging, this time all over the body.

"_Serum administered. Howard, administer the pulses._"

A series of sensations not unlike electric shocks wracked Steve, which were in turn followed by something like very bad growing pains in the arms, legs, and back.

"_Conversion complete. Nurse, open the pod._"

The door swung open, and the assembled onlookers gawked and gazed at the scene before them. Where there had once been a scrawny runt, there was now a peak specimen of human perfection.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Poison of HYDRA

A round of applause emanated from the assembled crowd as Steve staggered out of the pod and made an ungraceful bow.

"Hope you're happy, Agent Carter."

"Happy is the wrong word, Stark. Pleased is the more accurate descriptor."

In the midst of the jubilation, nobody noticed one of the lab technicians reach for a nearby wrench and approach Doctor Erskine.

"Heads up, _Herr Doktor!_"

A sickening crunch was heard as the wrench slammed into the back of Erskine's legs, with a gunshot finishing the great mind off.

"Bloody hell! HYDRA!"

The technician grabbed a vial of the serum, pocketed it, and proceeded to dart out of the now-panicking throng of VIPs.

"Security! Stop him!"

Steve snapped to attention and broke into a sprint after the escaping agent. The corridors of the facility passed by in a blur as he burst up onto Louisville's West Market Street, the bright Kentucky sun glaring in his eyes once he hit street level.

Heinz Kruger cursed under his breath as he watched the former runt bolt down the street like a two-legged racehorse. Instinctively, he ducked into an alleyway and made a dash for the Ohio River, praying to the old Germanic gods that his getaway vehicle was on time. Suddenly, he felt two hundred and twenty pounds of bone and muscle slam on top of him.

"Who are you?" Steve asked as he turned the now-exposed former lab technician onto his back.

"The first of many, _saumensch_."

"The first of many what?"

"Hail HYDRA! Cut off one head-"

Kruger's tongue flopped around in his mouth, prying open a hollow false molar in the process.

"-and two more shall take its place!"

He chomped down on a now-exposed cyanide pill, closed his eyes, and died as his body was gripped by muscle spasms. When it stopped, Steve looked upon the infiltrator's corpse. A sneering rictus lay plastered across its face.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: First Outing

JULY 1, 1942

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE AUSTRO-ITALIAN BORDER:

A light airplane began to descend towards the towering peaks of the Italian Alps. In the passenger compartment, Steve finished adjusting the outfit that SSR had designed for him. Adorning its chest was a solitary white star, while the midriff and material surrounding the star bore a pattern of red and white stripes. Just to complete what he had assumed was SSR's idea of a practical joke, the rest of the outfit was solid blue.

_Well, that's done._

As if on cue, Peggy walked in from the cockpit.

"Awaiting orders, ma'am."

Peggy cleared her throat.

"Grab a 'chute and jump. We're smack above one of HYDRA's facilities, and the boys back at MI6 managed to pinpoint Falsworth's location to here."

"Who's Falsworth?"

"The first true beneficiary of the Erskine process."

"So he-"

"Yes, Steve. He's the British version of you."

The intercom buzzed.

"_Stark here. Just wanted to let you two know that now's the optimal window for deployment_-"

The cabin door opened, and Steve jumped out. Within moments, he was plummeting towards Earth at terminal velocity, with one eye on an altimeter and the other towards the ground.

_15,000 feet._

_10,000 feet._

_7,500 feet._

_5,000 feet._

_2,500 feet._

The parachute deployed, and Steve Rogers landed on the compound's walls.

_On my own now._ he thought as he hid behind a corner.

Almost immediately, he began to scan the environment. Below him was a grassy yard which was crawling with soldiers and armored vehicles. Above him, a looming tower adorned with a similarly imposing radio mast. Before him, a service entrance to said tower.

_Well, it'll have to do_.

Steve promptly opened the door to the tower and began his mission. As he expected, the service entrance was unguarded, as were the succeeding lengths of corridor. This smooth going continued for some time until he entered what he assumed to be a pre-existing armory of some kind. He scanned the room intently, taking stock of its contents: halberds, hammers, axes, swords of all kinds, and multiple shields. He grabbed a nearby iron shield and gripped onto it before advancing into the depths of the compound.

Several more minutes passed as the lone super-soldier wandered through the compound, sighting no guards as he did so. Finally, he exited the tower and then noticed why the yard was so heavily guarded.

From a wall-mounted walkway, Steve Rogers watched in shock as armored guards clad in black milled around the compound's yard. Scattered across it were figures with scars across their backs and torsos. Snippets of English, French, and other Allied languages rose from these figures. One of them seemed more robust than the others, and it was this man that the nearby guards regarded with a mix of apprehension and dread, as if he were some kind of wild animal capable of mauling them in an instant.

Steve jumped from his perch, landing in the yard with both feet. The guards were taken by surprise as the man clad in a leather version of the Stars and Stripes bounded from one man to his cohort, using an old shield as both a defense and as a bludgeon. The prisoner took advantage of this break to free of his bonds, much to the horror of the guards.

"_Mein Gott! Falsworth ist frei!_"

The man grabbed one man's pistol and fired it, discharging a blast of energy that turned its former owner to a bluish-gray dust. Steve turned around, an awed expression across his face.

"James Falsworth, I presume?"

The man turned around.

"You from SSI?"

"Yes. Steven G. Rogers-"

"Save the introductions, mate. We've got work to do."

Just then, six guards stepped out into the yard.

"Hail HYDRA! Cut off one head, and two more will take its place!" the leader exclaimed, raising both his arms into the air.

Falsworth shot them all with the pistol he had taken.

"Cauterize the stump, and they won't grow back." he muttered.

Steve watched as the man he was supposed to rescue walked to an idling truck and blew the horn, while the prisoners began to walk towards it.


End file.
